Try Me
by Kiss it Better
Summary: Clean air. Clean, delicious, wonderful air. Oh, sweet Jesus, thank you.:May contain strong language::OC::MWPP era: Set free from Azkaban to go back to Hogwarts, Roxy must clear her name before she's sent back.
1. Foreword

Let me just talk a little about this story. Feel free to skip ahead if you like, there's nothing really important here.

I started writing it when I was fourteen, and abandoned it at chapter 6, for no other good reason than minor writers block and lack of planning and organisation. It's now three years later and I'm in no way saying that I'm more organised; but I would like to give it another shot.

Now, as (I think) a lot of people know, original characters in fanfictions are more often than not, the author placing themselves within a world that they feel connected with. Mine was no exception. But, when I planned the story, my intent was to keep it cannon. All the fabricated (so to speak) parts that I made just to include my character were to be wrapped up in the end, so that _Try Me _would fit within the timeline of the true Harry Potter story.

But, three years later, I can't remember exactly what my plan was. Despite this, I still have a rough idea and I want to revive my story, not just for the readers, but because, well, I really liked it.

So let's see how I do.


	2. Prologue

Clean air. Clean, delicious, wonderful _air._

Oh, sweet Jesus, thank you.

_Thank you_.

---------------------------------

"Miss Sharp?"

Sharp?

Of course. That was her name. Roxette. Roxette Sharp. Was it?

Was that her name?

"Miss Sharp?"

_Sharp?_

Never mind who _she_ was. Who was _that_? Whose voice? It sounded deep. It must be a man, she supposed.

Never mind if it was a _man_, she thought dully.

Was it friend?

"Miss Sharp."

There was no question. No subtle rise in the end of the name this time around.

Oh, dear. The voice was becoming annoyed.

"_Miss Sharp_."

Her neck snapped toward the voice by reflex. Who was it? Who would address her by the name she had heard so few times over the past few years? Who would address her so politely over the past _many_ years?

Was it friend?

_Was it friend?_

"Miss Sharp, please. We have something important to discuss with you."

It was at this point that her eyes began to start up. Roxy couldn't pinpoint the exact time they had begun to give up, but it was a long time gone.

She'd given up herself by then, anyway.

"Can you hear me?"

Her eyes were still half-heartedly trying to whir into life like a rusty machine with an outdated, yet adequate, power-source. Roxy could see, if only barely. Stone walls crept into her sight, dripping with some unknown moisture. Not just the walls. The ceiling. The floor. The whole tiny room was covered in transparent, foul liquid that came from God knew where.

Where?

Azkaban.

She was in Azkaban.

And suddenly she felt like giving up again.


	3. Transfiguration, Morphing and Disguise

"Hogwarts, Roxette. We're sending you to Hogwarts."

Hogwarts? No. She wasn't allowed. Not allowed to leave. She was trapped, trapped within theses walls... These four walls, which were trapped in another four walls, which were enclosed by angry, swirling, impossibly vengeful ocean waves.

Hogwarts? What a stupid idea.

She tried to tell him that too, but unfortunately her voice, like her eyes, had fled without turning back when defeat had swept in on her so long ago. She simply shook her head dumbly, dimly aware that the man, whoever he may be, was most probably aware of where they were. How impossible it was for her to go anywhere.

But she still shook her head. As if she knew better than him.

He smiled comfortingly.

"Do you know how old you are, Roxette?"

She stared at him. Somewhere, deep in her mind, she noted the use of her first name.

"You are fourteen years old." He told her. As if this was huge news or something. "You've missed three years of magical education! And since you are to be out of this place one day, you should be well educated when you arrive in the magical world. We want you to know the ins and outs of magic, so you don't end up back here again, or even in St Mungos! Heaven forbid. So we have decided to send you to Hogwarts. For the time-being."

The whole speech sounded impeccably rehearsed.

Hogwarts?

How did he know how old she was? How could he know, when she could barely remember it herself? Did it matter?

_Hogwarts?_

Hogwarts was far, far away from Azkaban. Far, far, far, far... Would she still have nightmares in Hogwarts? Her guess was yes. The nightmares would follow her for a long time, she suspected. She _knew_.

"Well," He asked. "Do you like the sound of that?"

She'd never known she was allowed to go to Hogwarts before. In her mind, the part that had taken over when she first stepped onto that miserable lump of land that was Azkaban prison, she'd assumed that fate had brought her to Azkaban. Fate had prevented her from ever even finding out if she could have been a Hogwarts student and fate obviously knew how to do it's job right. Why else would she be here?

But then, was it not destiny that had brought this man – who was obviously not just a friend, but a _saviour_ – to her?

"Yes," she croaked. "Yes, please... Yes."

She hardly even noticed how remarkably dry her throat felt. She was too distracted by the sound of her own voice, speaking once more... Not only speaking, but accepting one of the most glorious, amazing offers she had ever received in her live, Azkaban or no.

Hogwarts.

She was going to Hogwarts.

* * *

"Jamsieeeee...!"

The poor boy barely had the chance to turn before Sirius lobbed the biggest book he had ever seen squarely into the back of James's head. He fell forward, managing to hit his forehead on the hearth for an added bonus. Not the carpet two centimetres to the left. Oh, no. The bloody, buggering stone _hearth_.

Sirius, oblivious to his best friends pain, cackled like a hyena.

"DIE, BLACK!"

James smacked his friend round the head with the book. There were a few minutes of mad giggling as Sirius staggered back into the doorframe.

"Ow."

"What is this?" James looked at the insanely giant book properly for the first time. It looked as if it had been gold once... But now it was only a dull brown, and the letters were barely readable.

Barely.

"_Transfiguration, Morphing and Disguise for the Advanced and_..." He paused and looked up at his friend incredulously. "..._For the Advanced_ _and the Ever-so-Clever_?"

Sirius grinned. "

"I did that. My Father lost the book... I found it... And altered it a bit."

James grinned back at him.

"And it contains..." He tipped the book to one side and let the heavy pages fall over each other loudly, knowing exactly what he was looking for.

"... Animal Morphing Secrets." Sirius slammed a finger on the correct yellowing page, somewhere near the end of the book where there were several long-winded and complicated instructions on turning into animagi.

The page was ripped in the middle, as if some wizard had scratched it after a transformation and there were burns all over the page, but the instructions, however difficult, remained clear.

"_Brilliant_," James whispered. "We'll do it soon, I know it."

* * *

Warmth, though it was a welcome change, was unfamiliar. It made Roxy nervous, being out of Azkaban so suddenly. It seemed to her that all of these things, warmth, pillows, food... Would be taken away without warning.

But obviously this was true. It would be taken away eventually... But not _now. _Now she had the option to enjoy her room, with its fading colours and dirtying window.

She knew that this was not the most luxurious room, but after Azkaban she would have given everything she owned to sleep in a box, so the Hog's Head, in all of its aging glory, felt like a five-star hotel.

She didn't have many possessions, only her school equipment and the small bag of galleons the ministry had given her ("For now, we'll call it a conditional favour."). On her bedside table was her brand new wand, ready and waiting to be used. Only three days... and then it would be.

Hogwarts... She could see it from her window. That magic, unknown castle that she'd dreamed of when she was younger. Lipkins had always told her that she wouldn't be allowed...

_"They only send _real_ witches to Hogwarts, idiot."_

But Lipkins was dead now, wasn't he?

"But I _didn't_ kill him," Roxy whispered. The empty room around her didn't answer, but she knew that if it could, it would be sceptical.

Roxy could smell the owner of the inn cooking something below, but she couldn't for the life of her think of what it could be. Nothing she'd ever eaten had smelled anywhere near that good.

Walking lightly over to the wall at the opposite side of the room, she remembered that the owner thought she was guilty too. It was obvious that as soon as he'd first laid eyes on her that he found her suspicious, dangerous even.

The closer she came to the door, the stronger the unknown aroma became. She closed her eyes and let her fingers trail over to the doorknob, smooth, cool and comforting. It was _her_ doorknob. Her passage from this room into a world she could explore as she wished, whenever she wished, for as long as she wanted.

A world outside Azkaban. A world outside Lipkins' store.

Who cared about the stupid skinny barman? He was no different from the rest of the wizarding world; they all thought she was guilty, too.

She swung the door open and let that delicious smell into her room. And as she stared into the empty space in front of her, her heart pounded and her mind reeled with the thrill of freedom. Freedom that may be limited... but it was freedom nonetheless.

"I'll make it last," she said quietly. "And I won't give it up. Not again."


	4. Hogwarts Express

"_Animal Morphing Secrets_

_The act of transforming oneself into an animal is a widely desired and a greatly complex skill for any wizard, whether they be advanced or beginner. It is recommended that attempting the transformation should not even be considered if a highly developed expert is not present for supervision and emergency reconstruction._"

"Emergency reconstruction?" Peter squeaked. "I'm not doing anything that needs emergency reconstruction."

The Hogwarts' Express was full to the brim with kids, each of them eager and waiting for their next (or first) year at Hogwarts. The train was due for departure in exactly two and a half minutes and the place was alive with the sound of hurried goodbyes, last minute equipment checks and indignant owls.

Peter, James and Sirius were huddled in an empty, locked compartment on the Hogwarts' Express, underneath James's Invisibility Cloak. It was uncomfortable, hot and dark under there, and Peter was sick to death of all of these stupid plans his friends' had. Who's to say the dumb old book was even correct? It looked about three centuries old – let alone the fact that the title had '_Ever-so-Clever' _in it.

"Peter, you can't be serious," James hissed. "This is for Remus. He needs us."

"He's been doing it without us for years! I'm sure he can manage the rest just fine – and that's without anybody needing-" He jabbed a finger at the book viciously. "- Emergency reconstruction!"

Sirius shot him the best death glare he could muster under the current cramped circumstances.

"We'll keep that in mind for when you next need our help with something Peter. 'You can manage just fine'."

Peter mumbled something incoherently, unofficially resigning himself to whatever horrors this little 'project' could cause.

Sirius grinned. "Hey, a bit of emergency reconstruction might do you good anyway, Peter, maybe we could fix that stupid little nose for you."

"Hey..."

James grinned and peered back down at the page.

"_However, if one is adequately skilled and prepared, this talent can be learned eventually, though not easily._

_**The following instructions are to be obeyed with precision and without doubt **_-"

The train juddered into life suddenly, and the book flew out of James's hands.

He slithered out from underneath the cloak, and as he did, there was a tap at the compartment door.

"James?" Remus stared at him through the door's window. "What are you doing?"

Only hesitating for a second, James grinned and unlocked the door for him.

"Why, we're planning our first day reunion prank, of course." He yanked the Invisibility Cloak off of Peter and Sirius and threw it underneath the compartment seat – where the _Transfiguration, Morphing and Disguise_ book had slid just a second before. Peter and Sirius smiled like idiots on the floor in a pathetic attempt at looking innocent.

Remus stared at them some more. It was, of course, blatantly obvious that they were hiding something, but was it worth pursuing?

... No.

"Um. Alright..."

There was yet more grinning and a distant _thunk_ as the fat old book hit the compartment wall gently, sliding with the motion of the train.

-----------------------------------------------

In Roxy's compartment, she sat alone. This was voluntary, of course; all of the teenagers who had approached the door of her compartment had received a glowering stare from the girl with sunken eyes who sat in the corner. She wasn't in the mood for their company, but she was grateful for their presence beyond her line of sight. The sounds of the train comforted her for some reason she could not fathom. The steady clunking of the train's wheels would have annoyed anyone else, and most of the kids wouldn't even have heard the quieter than quiet _thunk _from the neighbouring compartment, but Roxy listened to all these noises with vague excitement. There was no laughing, or chatting or general din of chaos within the walls of Azkaban – only a dismal, creeping quiet. It was more than refreshing to have such an atmosphere of general happiness surrounding her.

In the luggage rack above her sat a modest trunk, full of brand-new school supplies (no use spending all that government money on second hand rubbish, Roxy figured) and robes. In her hands she held her wand.

She twirled it slowly, examining the shining birch from all angles. It looked identical from all points of view, of course, but Roxy simply couldn't stop staring at the thing. Never before had she held her very own wand, never, though she grew up in a wizarding shop that had wands stuffed in to ever corner. She had always been strictly _forbidden_ to touch them. Always.

"_Can't let you dirty 'em all up now, can we?"_

Roxy shook herself. No good thinking about all that rubbish now; she'd already had fours years for all that. And now what did she have? A wand and an empty compartment.

She gripped the wand firmly in her right hand and held it aloft.

"_Flagrate_," she whispered.

A stream of scarlet flames flew out from the tip of her wand, emanating heat and light. She let the fire burn in front of the compartment door; it was as if she had her own personal fireplace right there on the train. She put her feet up on the seat opposite and smiled, her eyes closed and her heart content for the first time in at least four years.


	5. The Start of Year Feast

Roxy Sharp began her Azkaban sentence in 1969, when she was nine years old, one year before the Dark Lord's ascent to power. The Ministry of Magic found her guilty of murder. She was also accused of Underage Magic and Use of the Unforgivable Curses, but without enough evidence, Roxy was found not guilty of these two charges.

Roxette Sharp was the youngest Wizarding person ever sent to Azkaban prison; _The Daily Prophet _had had a field day over the controversy of sending such a young girl to prison. With such headlines as: "_Ministry Turns on our Youth!_"and "_The Death of Ministry Compassion,_"_ s_lapped across the front page. But the Ministry most certainly works in mysterious ways, and after a week or so, the newspapers changed their tack. "_Malice Manifests in Young Minds_,"one headline read.

Of course, the notorious Roxette Sharp did not go unnoticed amongst the students of Hogwarts. By the time everybody had taken their seats in the Great Hall for the Start of Year Feast, half the school was talking about the murderer living within school walls, and half of _them_ were talking about how she'd already killed seven people by setting fire to part of the train.

Peter Pettigrew was one of the many who expressed a little extra interest in the Slytherin house table, and it didn't go unnoticed by his peers.

"Don't be an idiot, Peter, she's not there." Sirius looked over at the green-clad house table with a sneer. "They won't have put her in the Great Hall on her first day at Hogwarts... No doubt she'll be teaching all those Slytherins Unforgivable curses by tomorrow morning though."

The four boys sat and Remus peeked at the Slytherin table as well.

"How do we even know that she's really here at all? It's only rumours, after all."

Sirius shrugged. "All rumours start somewhere."

The oak front doors swung open, and Professor McGonagall led a herd of tiny First Years swarm into the Great Hall.

Sirius suppressed a laugh.

"They're so _small_..." He whispered. "James, take a look at..." He rolled his eyes. James was long gone; he was staring at a redhead near the end of the table with glazed eyes.

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

Lily Evans gazed at the First Years with a dreamy kind of interest; she had a small smile upon her lips, trying to be welcoming to the new students. She knew that _some_ students might not pay them the same favour and she tried her best. She noticed Sirius shove Potter into the line of trembling First Years with a bark of laughter and scowled at them momentarily.

"Ow... That _hurt_..." James moaned. "You've broken my tailbone. I won't be able to fly for a month now... That _hurt_."

The Sorting Hat begun it's song while James was still muttering "_Ow_, my _tailbone_..."

_"Years ago, the founders four,_

_Were united in their wish,_

_Their dream to teach all young_

_If they be good or ghoulish._

_But wanted different types of learners_

_Did each the founders four,_

_Their desires conflicted in excess._

_Upon good traits each was sure, _

_Ravenclaw taught only those_

_Who reigned in all of smarts,_

_Hufflepuff, fair and true_

_Took all with pure of heart._

_For Gryffindor, bold hero he_

_The brave were valued highest,_

_For proud and forceful Slytherin_

'_Twas the cunning, and the slyest._

_There was a wise suggestion placed _

_By Ravenclaw at last,_

_Instead of empty fighting, _

_School houses far surpassed._

_And from then each founder,_

_Sorted each and every child._

_And when all those were dead and gone, _

_The houses instead I compiled._

_So, don't be afraid, pop me on!_

_Your fate is safe with me._

_Remember that where I put you _

_Is where you're meant to be."_

Roxy heard the song from the dungeons, where she'd been left temporarily during the feast. Professor McGonagall, looking slightly flustered but very composed at the same time, had left her with one the kitchen house-elves to bring her part of the feast after the sorting was completed. Roxy gazed at the house-elf. It looked back at her happily, with big, tennis-ball eyes. Roxy did not know the elf's name, but she was fascinated by it. She had always known of house-elves, of course, but never seen one in the flesh... It was almost like a live reminder that she was definitely in the confines of the normal wizarding world now.

When the song began, Roxy listened carefully, her ears working hard to hear the words properly. Which was she? Smart? Bold? Fair? Or sly? To the best of her knowledge, the best answer was none of the above. How could she have developed such strong traits after such a weak existence?

Roxy sat for a long while, watching her little house-elf companion, who was, in turn, watching her. His eyes were hypnotic.

"Miss Sharp."

Roxy jumped and spun around, eyes wide. The dark walls of the dungeons reminded her far too much of Azkaban, enough to make anyone jumpy.

Professor McGonagall stood tall and firm, with a raggedy black hat in one hand. Roxy stared at it dubiously.

"You are to wear this. It will decide your place in Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. Roxy looked back up at her, her uncertainty replaced by scepticism. McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"It's traditional."

Roxy shook off her doubts and let the hat be placed upon her head. The dungeons were cut out entirely, and she was left with only black cloth to look at. Then there was a impish voice in her ear.

"_My, my, my. Roxette Sharp. I never thought I'd see the day a convict was placed in my grasp! Goodness, goodness. But let bygones be bygones, and it's not my purpose to judge. My purpose is to place you. But that is easier said than done, is it not? Your personality is hard to put a label on, I'm afraid... Your character is a complex one at least..._

_I see brainpower here, lots of brainpower... Wit disguised by shyness... And shyness disguised by aggression. You're stubborn, yet vulnerable; adventurous, yet reckless; intelligent, yet afraid. You are without a doubt a tricky little lass when you want to be, oh yes. You know how to get your own way, I can see it... But I also see a young woman willing to prove herself... But not prove her ability, oh no. You wish to prove your chivalry, don't you?_

_You can't deny it, dear. I may even see it better than you do. And of course, a conflicting personality such as yours can be difficult to place. You'd do well in many a house... But I know exactly where to put you, dear._

_GRYFFINDOR!"_


	6. The Common Room

Wow. Okay, first of all I really would like to apologise for how long this took me to update. I had major writers' block, but still. That's no excuse. I'm sorry to you guys who've been reviewing me faithfully. Soo, Eatorbitwrappers, Angry Fox Girl, Sullen Kitty, and especially Scubadiver101 whose last review was "update soon please!" in ... February... I'm really sorry. I hope you like this chapter and I'll try and make the next chapter quicker, if you're still reading )

The Gryffindor Common Room was loud and hectic as the students piled in through the portrait hole. The armchairs were filled, as were the student's stomachs, and everyone was ready to snuggle down into a nice, squishy bed. The fact that the stairways to the dormitories were blocked off only served to aggravate the crowd of teenagers stuck in the Common Room.

The two staircases leading to the dormitories were out of sight, hidden by newly conjured red brick walls that covered their entranceways. One of these bricks was screaming orders at the Gryffindors – for some reason with a thick Russian accent.

"Why would they block off the dormitories?" Remus frowned. "McGonagall's not mentioned anything to us."

"_Go now! Sit!_" The brick (named Humphrey by some first year girls) bawled.

"I dunno," James said rather loudly, as it was difficult to be heard over all of the other complaining Gryffindors). "Maybe someone's blown them up."

"_No more noise now!_"

"Don't be ridiculous." Remus hissed. "You can't just _blow up _a dormitory."

"Do you think we're in trouble?" Peter said.

"I wouldn't be surprised." James reasoned.

"_NO SINGING!_"

"But we haven't done anything!"

"Well they'd better hurry up and open them soon –"

"– Else we will be forced to blast our way through," Sirius interjected ("_You there! Put DOWN the roast potato!_"). "Right James?"

"Definitely," James said gravely.

"There will be _no_ 'blasting' in my Common Room, Mr Black!"

The swarming Gryffindors fell silent as Professor McGonagall strode from the portrait hole, wand drawn and a trusty frown set upon her face. She stepped forward and pointed her wand at the Russian brick, who fell silent after a final hysterical cry of, "_Normal children do not throw things to bricks_!".

"I am here, to tell all of you something very important, so there will be no interruptions! Now, you may have heard some rumours about a new student at Hogwarts – Roxette Sharp –"

At this, Peter whimpered, Remus frowned and the rest of the common room burst into anxious whispers and excited mumbles.

"_Quiet_!" Again, the common room descended into silence as Professor McGonagall continued. "Professor Dumbledore allowed Miss Sharp into this school! The Sorting Hat put her into Gryffindor this very morning! That should be enough reason for all of you to accept her within this house. The house of Gryffindor has always had a good reputation for its acceptance and affability. Please, do not let your house down. I want _no _aggravation from _any_ of you. Understood?"

The students gave her a mumble of agreement in response.

"Miss Sharp will be residing in the girl's dormitories as of tonight. Now, I want everyone in bed." She stared at their shocked faces with impatience. "_Immediately!_"

With a massive sense of finality, Professor McGonagall whipped round and exited through the portrait hole, and as soon as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung shut the entire Common Room burst into life as the students began gossiping with one another. It was astonishing to see the Gryffindors so excited so early in the year, especially to such an extent; all over the room groups formed and within seconds brand new stories and theories were being flung around the room. Near the fireplace, a gigantic gang of girls were discussing plans that would allow them to sleep outside of the Girls' Dormitories. Inches from these girls there were a gaggle of boys, who were offering, with false selflessness, to have the girls sleep in their rooms. James, inspired, turned to his three friends with hope in his eyes.

"Oi, you don't think Evans would fall for that, do you?"

Remus and Sirius exchanged identical exasperated glances.

"Lily Evans doesn't even like eating in the Great Hall when you're sitting on the same table, James," Remus pointed out. "So I doubt she'll want to be asleep in a dorm with you."

"Especially when you might do God knows what to her when she sleeps..." Sirius smirked.

James looked at them both thoughtfully.

"You know, I reckon you're right," he said, before he disappeared into the crowds of teenagers, crying, "OI, EVANS!" as loudly as possible.

"One day, that girl is going to curse him up something nasty, and I don't blame her," Remus said with an affectionate smile.

"Yeah, and then knowing James, he'll beg her to nurse him back to health," Sirius laughed. Peter stared at the both of them, with an over-exaggerated look of horror set on his face.

"How can you laugh?" He squeaked. "How can you laugh, knowing that there's an insanely dangerous dark witch just above ours heads? Not only that, but a murderer! A murderer who's going to live with us – without supervision – for the entire school year?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be an insanely dark wizard, but you seem to put up with me." Sirius said. "Besides, she won't live with us for the whole year." Peter looked up at him, his face a picture of complete panicky innocence and Remus frowned at him as well.

"She won't?"

"Of course not. As soon as she murders someone again, they'll send her straight back to Azkaban, won't they?"

"Sirius!" Remus half-scolded, half-laughed at his friend.

Peter, however, paled, shut his mouth tight and said nothing more on the subject. This was how it went most of the time with the them; Peter got offended, and Remus usually picked up the pieces. And so Remus was about to play his role and comfort Peter, who looked as if he had been Petrified, when James joined them again.

"Where's Evans?"

"'Evans'?" Sirius said in mock confusion. "Who is this 'Evans' of whom you speak? I've never heard the name in my life!" James only glared at him.

"Well, have you seen her or not?"

"_Her_? Evans a she? James, why haven't you told us about this girl? We would just _so_ love to know _all _about her..." Sirius grinned at his best friend teasingly as James scowled at him.

"Remus?" James turned to him.

"I haven't seen her. She might have gone to her room already, James. It's not as if she usually hangs around to wait for you, is it?"

"Still. I'm sure we could manage to get someone in our room if you really wanted, Jamsie." Sirius flashed a small smile at girls on the opposite side of the room, who giggled and blushed in response to him. "Unless your still hung up on that... 'Evans' person, whoever she may be."

The Common Room was becoming less full now, as some students disappeared off up the staircase. But there was still a noticeably large number of girls hanging around, obviously unwilling to venture into the Girls Dormitories. But there was definitely a lack of a certain red haired individual in the room, it was quite plain now that the room wasn't quite so full. James shrugged and turned to his friends with a familiar grin set upon his face.

"Come on... How about we begin our traditional first night marauding of Hogwarts?"

None of the few Gryffindors left in the Common Room a half hour later saw the four Marauders' exit through the portrait hole – but that could only be expected of them, since the four of them had snuck under the invisibility cloak with some difficulty before clambering down the spiral staircase.

And none of the four Marauders' noticed Lily Evans climbing the steps to the girls dorms, slowly, quietly, with far more care than she would usually take when climbing those stairs, which she did out of instinctual caution, because she knew that when she reached her room, she would meet the most famous witch of the Gryffindor tower that night. And as the four friends pushed the Portrait of the Fat Lady silently back to her place, covering the hole into the Gryffindor Common Room, Lily Evans opened the door to her room where Roxette Sharp was residing.


	7. The Girls Dorms

Without really thinking about it, Roxy bounced lightly on her very own four-poster bed in the Gryffindor tower. Her eyes were fixed upon the window, where sheets of rain repeatedly threw themselves upon its glass, as if attempting to break through. It was almost like a bizarre reversal of her life, which she had spent longing and wishing and hoping to break out. Her wand remained, as it had since she arrived in the Gryffindor tower, between her fingers. Smooth and polished and fresh, it gave her a solid sense of being within the room that seemed so like one of the dreams she had long before Azkaban, back when she dreamed of freedom and magic.

The muffled sounds of students downstairs in the Common Room took a long while to sink into Roxy's senses. She relished hearing their voices, their laughter and their simple, infectious waves of joy. She was grateful for them, those students who knew so little and yet so much about her. She almost craved them; she couldn't get enough of their normality, which was so idiotically abnormal to her.

The wand in her hands was suddenly overwhelmingly tempting to her. Roxy lifted it and relished the feeling; she'd not held a wand for over 5 years and never before in her life had she done so with such a sense of security in what she was doing.

"_Avifors!"_

Two bluebirds soared upward from the single desk opposite her. They twittered secret messages above Roxy's head and circled each other, in their very own cheery azure escapade. Roxy laughed, but the noise scared her feathered companions, who flew together over to the doorframe and huddled there. They continued to chirp, though in a more reproachful manner to their previous happy songs. Her eyes remained fixed upon them, and a smile was set on her face and her wand still sat in her fingers, satisfied for now.

She was still gazing contentedly at her bluebirds when the door handle twitched. Habitually, she chose to hide.

"_Finite Incantatem_," she whispered hurriedly, and the bluebirds morphed instantly back into a couple of quills. They dropped to the floor and lay there, motionless and sad. She drew the curtains of the four poster bed and shut out the surrounding room, effectively hiding from whoever it was that was on the other side of the door.

She could tell that several girls had entered by the number of footsteps. Then, there was a sudden commotion and a girl with a high pitched voice whispered.

"Oh my God, she's there, she's there behind her curtains!"

"That doesn't make her _deaf, _Elvira." A second voice.

"Maybe she's asleep?" And a third.

"Well then lets keep it that way!" Back to Elvira; the first one. Roxy assumed that must be all of them – all her roommates – since there were only four beds in the room.

"You can't just avoid her forever, Elvira. She'll be living with us all year." This was the second voice again. Roxy suddenly wondered what she would ever do about these people; she'd never really spoken to anyone her own age before. She was both terrified and overjoyed that she finally had the chance to not just socialise, but maybe even make friends for the first time in her life. It had been such a long time since she'd spoken to anyone... But just as these thoughts popped into her head, Elvira spoke again.

"She's_ not_ going to be here all year Lily, don't be so naive! I heard she's only here to murder somebody again, and of course, they'll send her straight back to Azkaban then."

Roxy's stomach seemed to fill with ice.

"Elvie!" Said was the final, unnamed voice, sounding shocked. "You mustn't say that! Dumbledore would never put the students in danger, you know that."

"Well, you say that Mariella, but what about the Slytherins? How do you explain what they're doing here? They're all destined to be Death Eaters, and you know it."

"Not all of them," Lily said quietly.

"You're not being fair, Elvira –" Mariella reasoned.

"Aren't I?" Elvira was starting to sound slightly hysterical, and with a small wave of revelation, Roxy realised it was because this girl was afraid of her. Elvira; whom she'd never met before, was afraid of sharing the room with her. "You should know what they're like more than anyone, Lily! With all this talk about half-bloods and Mudbloods; just last week that horrible Avery boy tried to curse you! If Potter hadn't jumped in – "

"James Potter!" Lily spat. "I suppose you think he's all the better because he's in Gryffindor and flies around the Quidditch pitch like a selfish troll? Everyone may think that Potter and Black and they're little gang are all that, but I know that they're just horrible, bullying thugs!"

There was a short silence in the room and Roxy got the feeling that that little outburst was quite an unusual happening from this girl.

"And how do you think he got that way?" Elvira almost whispered it.

"What do you mean?" Lily still sounded as if she was fuming.

"Well who does he hang around with?"

"Elvira, stop it, you're being completely ridiculous now –" Mariella began.

"Sirius Black!" At this, Roxy sat up slightly. She knew the Blacks; they were infamous dark wizards. And they used to shop in Lipkins store sometimes... The were good customers. They always bought the finest of merchandise – the most expensive of merchandise... "You know his family! They're all evil; they support You-Know-Who, I know it!"

"Elvira, that's going too far. Now we should all just go to bed and discuss it in the morning, when we're not so tired." Mariella was obviously the most responsible of the three; the authority in her voice was unmistakable. She almost sounded like Professor McGonagall. There was no more arguing between the three girls after this, though there was a considerable amount of tension that hung in the air of the room as the trio changed and got into bed. Roxy noticed that Elvira didn't complain about sleeping in the room with her again, and fell asleep peacefully enough. Eventually, she was fairly certain that all three of the girls were asleep whilst she lay awake, deciding there and then that she would most certainly keep an eye out for Sirius Black tomorrow morning.


	8. Marauding

In her dream, she saw Lipkin again.

Roxy's eyes snapped open, only to be greeted with complete darkness. Her new roommates were all sound asleep – their loud, even breathing told her that much. With shaking fingers, she wiped sweat from her forehead before she sat up.

Roxy couldn't remember exactly what happened; but in any case, she knew that it was a bad dream and she knew Lipkin was in it. These kinds of bad dreams came to her often – she couldn't decide whether it was worse to see Lipkin in her mind's eye, or the dementors of Azkaban... She blinked, hard, several times, trying to get the image of his grey, wrinkled face out of her mind. Heavy wind from outside rattled the window and Roxy tried to concentrate on that, rather than her dream. The shadowed curtains disappeared behind her eyelids as she settled herself back onto her fluffy pillow.

_How did I ever get stuck with a horrible little muggle like you snooping around my shop? Get out of my sight!_

Roxette screwed up her eyes, as if somehow that would get the memory out of her head. But once a thought had started, it was very difficult to stop it.

_Didn't you hear me? You insolent little bitch, I told you to GET AWAY –_

And with that, Roxy decided that midnight was an excellent time to read up on potions theory.

Her fingers were shaking yet more violently as she threw the covers off herself and drew the curtains of her four poster bed. In fact, she found that when she stood, her entire body was shivering. But she didn't stop to think about it. She swung upon the lid of her trunk and pulled out her potions book, before heading downstairs to the common room.

Roxy hadn't had the chance to take in the common room when she passed through it earlier; Professor McGonagall had hurried her to her dormitory without allowing for any hesitation to take in the sights.

It was an unusual place, really. Even with the fireplace dead, the room was welcoming and homely – the armchairs were inviting; worn out but insanely comfortable, which Roxette discovered as she settled down into the one closest to the now cold fireplace.

She tucked her feet up on the cushion and took a moment to peer out of the window; she saw icicles and frost on the exterior sill and the sky threatened a storm. But what did it matter? She had more important, more complex things to distract herself with now.

"_Lumos_."

So Roxy sat in the early hours of the morning, alone in the common room, reading up on veritaserum.

* * *

"I don't know why we do this every time," Sirius muttered. "I think I'm going to explode."

Their rate of movement was ridiculously snail-like. The four of them were nearly crawling in order for the invisibility cloak to cover them fully, and due to the tumultuous amounts of food they'd just consumed; the awkward conditions were made even more uncomfortable than they would be ordinarily.

"Oh, Sirius. You're made of stronger stuff than that aren't you?" Remus poked him playfully. "As a matter of fact, I quite fancy seconds."

It had become a Marauder tradition to pay a visit to the house elves in the kitchen the night after a feast. The miniature army of elves were exceedingly happy to accommodate them and there was always more than enough leftover food to go around.

"Says you," Sirius said irritably. Then, with a wink and a grin, he turned, with some difficulty, to his friend "For some _strange_ reason, you always seem to have the appetite of a ravenous beast."

Remus shot him a dark look.

"Fiddlesticks."

They came to a halt upon reaching the portrait of the fat lady, who, upon hearing the password from apparently thin air, rolled her eyes and grudgingly revealed the entrance to the common room.

James threw of the invisibility cloak the moment they were in.

"What time is it?"

Remus glanced at his watch. "It's... Just gone three in the morning. Maybe we should head to our room."

"Such a killjoy." Despite his dismissive comment, James yawned. "Ah, come on then."

With a series of moans and grunts of approval, the Marauders approached the staircase to the boys' dormitories – slowly. They'd only gotten halfway across the common room before Peter's hands shot up to his face to cover a quiet, high pitched squeal of shock that grabbed his friends' attention. His eyes were wide and his face was pale; he was gazing, with an almost comical look of horror, over at the armchair by the fireplace.

Roxy sat, with her legs tucked under her, potions book forgotten on the floor below her protruding knees and her wand, still lit, was snuggled underneath a pale, bony hand. She was fast asleep.

"Well would you look at that..." James said in a hushed voice. The four of them were in utter contrast with each other; Peter was terrified, James was curious beyond measure, Remus was entirely uneasy and Sirius had an evil grin on his face as he crept up behind Peter.

"She's just waiting for _you_, Peter. Wants to test out just how good she is with the Unforgivables after such a long time in Azkaban!"

Peter, apparently, was dumb with fright. He gawped at Sirius with even wider eyes, who only snickered quietly. Remus oversaw this behaviour with a disapproving eye. It seemed extremely unfair to him the way that they were talking about this girl; especially since she was sleeping peacefully only a couple of metres away. He raised an eyebrow as Sirius wound Peter up further and further, before turning to look at the girl who was making all this fuss.

"James!" He hissed, sudden panic rising in his stomach.

James was standing directly in front of Roxy's chair, crouched down to look at her face. "Get away from her!"

"But Remus," he whispered. "Look at her."

James was staring intently at the sleeping girl, his brow knit and his mouth slightly agape. He squinted as he gazed at her and leaned forward a fraction. He tilted his head; examining her thoroughly.

Peter was shifting his weight from one foot to another anxiously, spluttering at a ridiculous speed; "_I don't think you should, we should go upstairs, what if she wakes up?" _

Remus, from his post at the very bottom of the stairs, was utterly perplexed. "Look at wha – _Sirius_!"

It was too late. Sirius had bounded forward to join James. With a growl of frustration, Remus crept toward them, with the intention of dragging them both away, but the moment he saw Roxy's face, he froze, completely taken aback.

She was skinny. So skinny; her cheekbones jutted out of her face in an unnatural fashion, pushing against abnormally pale skin. Her hair was long and unkempt; it looked old and damaged which contrasted so much with her face; she looked younger than she should've been – there were fewer lines on her face than there would be on a regular girl of her age. But the most unusual, disturbing thing was her eyes. Her face may have been young, but her eyes were shadowed, sunken. It was almost as if she had two large, painful black eyes.

"_What if she wakes up?_" Peter remained where he was. He seemed to be glued to the spot.

"We should go to bed," Remus breathed. Staring at girls while they slept was hardly a pastime he wanted to get into.

"But, Christ, is that what Azkaban does to people?" James murmured. He bent down lower still until he was practically nose to nose with her.

"_I, I don't think – I don't think you should do that!_" Peter's voice was now intolerably shrill; James straightened himself and opened his mouth in order to throw an insult at Peter that would shut him up, but he was interrupted before he got the chance because as it turned out, Peter was right.

Reflexively, Roxy flung out her leg, which caught James in the side of the chest, leaving him winded. He fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. It only took a split second before there was a glowing wand in his face. In a matter of seconds, the four teenagers were in a standoff – Roxy's wand hovered inches from James's nose. Sirius had quickly drawn his and pointed it at the side of Roxette's head, while Remus, unsure of what to do, with his hand clenched in a fist around his wand in his pocket. He kept his eyes focussed intensely on Roxette – who was so tense he wasn't completely unsure whether she really intended to curse James or not.


End file.
